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Category Archives: Skincare

Skin is probably the organ that we invest the most. Think of all the money we spend on cleansers, toners, moisturizers… I’m running out of fingers! There’s a crucial spend that we shouldn’t avoid, makeup removers(if you wear makeup of course).

I’m using Rimmel London Gentle Eye Makeup Remover(it’s not very good btw, it’s not gentle enough to me) and the legendary DHC Cleansing Oil. I also use baby wipes or remover wipes once in a while.

Even though a bottle of cleansing oil can do all the jobs, remove waterproof mascara, eye shadow, foundation… everything, to me, a bootle of water-based eye makeup remover is very important. It’s definitely a must-have for me. I use it to do tones of things. I fix some minor mistakes while applying makeup, eg. mascara on eye lids… Given that it’s water-based, it’ll dry fast and you can continue your makeup application. I also prefer to use it to remove the eye makeup at the end of the day. One wipe then most gone. Also, again, given it’s water-based property, if it leaks into my eyes, I don’t feel a thing, no big deal.

The DHC Cleansing Oil deserves its fame. It’s fantastic. It dissolves all the makeup and it emulsifies once it meets water. After you finish, it leaves you feeling hydrated. I heard that it’s a great dupe for the even more legendary Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil(well, I haven’t tried the Shu Uemura one), people say that it’s slightly heavier than the Shu Uemura one, but it’s half the price. It’s great for removing anything, from waterproof mascara to foundation. But you can hardly use it to fix minor mistakes while applying makeup, it usually spreads everywhere, I only use it for whole face removal. Also, I don’t like to use it to remove my eye liners and mascara. It’s oil, and it easily leaks into my eyes unless I really close my eyes(you know, that kind that can creates wrinkles ), and the worst part is that it leaves me seeing things blur for a couple of minutes and I really hate that. But other than these, I love it and I’ll definitely purchase it again.

Baby wipes and remover wipes are my way-too-tired-to-do-anything choice. I don’t think they clean very well though. Baby wipes are very gentle, it feels good on skin. The remover wipes I use currently is Biore’s and it feels a bit harsh after it dries so I would still wash my face after( which makes no difference to using oil, that’s why I hardly use it now). I use the remover wipes to clean my brushes every now and then. For those wear makeup once in a long while, I think baby wipes are excellent. I use it to wipe my face before I sleep sometimes if it gets a bit oily and I’ve already washed my face earlier. It leaves my face feeling fresh.

If there’s only one remover I can use, I would go for the water-based eye makeup remover. It’s so easy to use. It’s okay for face too but would be a bit waste.

I bought this Neutrogena Moisture SPF 15 yesterday at a pharmacy store.

I usually buy all my skincare stuff in pharmacy store because it’s way cheaper than retail stores like Mannings and Watsons. Here’s a little tip for buying skincare products in Hong Kong, in case you don’t know. Always buy them（moisturizers, shampoos, shower gels…） in pharmacy stores unless it’s a certain brand that’s only available in Mannings or Watsons or …Because prices are way lower. In fact you’ll be shocked by the price difference. There’s a acne serum I love and it costs HK$56 in pretty much every pharmacy store I’ve ever visited but HK$79 in Mannings and Watsons. So you know what I’m talking about.

Confession time, I don’t wear moisturizer in summer. I have one for winter but I find it too oily for summer(of course it is!), it causes breakouts. I was like, forget it, toner would do. It’s not a right thing to do but I was just too lazy to go get one for summer. Also, I don’t have any sun protection on my face except for the SPF in foundation/BB cream, which is not enough,I know, again, laziness.So getting a moisturizer with SPF is kinda a big step for me. LOL.

I was a little surprised to find out that it’s non-comedogenic, hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, alcohol-free. It only mention the non-comedogenic part on the package(you caught me, I didn’t read the package carefully so I was kinda surprised), the rest were all on the bottle. Non-comedogenic is important to me as I have acne skin. Hypoallergenic is very important to those have sensitive skin but not me, it’s worth to mention though. As for fragrance-free, I don’t know why many people think it’s a big deal, but it’s still something that I would look for because I don’t want to take risks on my face, they say it’s crucial, crucial it is then. Alcohol-free, attention! I always find that moisturizers with alcohol quite funny. Alcohol, as I talked about in Alcohol, dries skin out, so adding it in moisturizers makes no sense to me.

I put on some today, it feels really light-weighted. I don’t feel it on my skin at all except it’s not tight, but this barely counts. I use for daytime and so far(which is only a day), I like it.

More pics about it.

I like that it comes with a pump. The product is less exposed to air and less chances to get contaminated.

Don’t know if you can read it. It just says that it’s lightweight and with SPF, non-comedogenic, hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, alcohol-free. Direction of applying it and Warning.

I’m terrible at photography, the lightning is so wrong. The product is supposed to be white, but somehow it looks yellow here.

It’s HK$79(US$:HK$=1:7.8 this might help you), and available in many pharmacy stores and Watsons and Mannings.

I haven’t got the time to try out the Revlon eye liner yet, so the pics gotta wait.

The other day, I was listening to a podcast, the Chemist Corner. It said that the aging of skin depends greatly on our genes, 65%. That leaves us only 35% to work on only. Sad, isn’t it? Also, it mentioned that sunlight and smoking enhance the aging process too. But drinking alcohol doesn’t show much effect. If you wanna avoid aging as much as possible, put on sunscreen and quit smoking, drinking is fine though. So, drinking alcohol doesn’t do much to your skin. But wearing it is a totally different thing.

Alcohol is very dehydrating, it’s easy to evaporate due to its low boiling point. And while it’s evaporating, it takes away the water too. But the way alcohol kills bacteria is by dissolving their cell membrane(confirmed). When you apply alcohol to your skin, it’s like pumping the water out of your skin. For oily skin, more oil will be secreted. Oil is secreted in order to prevent our skin from drying out. When alcohol takes away the water in your skin, more oil will be secreted to keep the skin moist. And for dry skin, it will get drier. Either case, alcohol is no good. That’s why nowadays, many products have a large Alcohol-Free written on them. (btw, if you have oily skin, you would like to look for an oil-free product too).

But you can’t avoid alcohol forever. Products contain no alcohol are usually skincare products, like toners. On the other hand, some cleansers, like a hand sanitizer, contain lots of it. (Here’s a tip for checking ingredients. They are usually listed in order, not alpha order of course. Let’s say you read: water(aqua), alcohol… That means, that product contains mostly water, then alcohol, then… ) That’s why I think you should wash with hand sanitizers that often, your hands are usually not that dirty and do not need to be that clean. To me, soap is enough already. Let’s say you need to use hand sanitizers, what should you do afterwards? Use some hand cream! The same goes to face. You should moisturize your skin, with an alcohol-free product, soon after you clean it with alcohol (this is kinda like damage control, isn’t it?)